Sip of Assistance

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

The weeks following the Emmy’s was total chaos with a long list of interviews and appearances. It seemed everyone wanted a piece of the hot and talented star of Satan’s Soldiers, James McCalman. That meant I was on overload with bookings.

Coffee in hand, we arrived on the set of Jay Leno’s late night show- which was actually filming in the late afternoon- so James could make his last television appearance for the week. He looked handsome as always in his brown leather jacket, black cotton shirt and matching beanie with expensively ripped jeans. There were small bags under his eyes, but nothing noticeable to anyone that didn’t see him on a daily basis.

He was exhausted, but all week he'd put on a happy face and stuck out each interview without complaint. He signed autographs and took photos as he entered and exited each venue, saying yes to everyone as if he wasn't slammed with back to back intervews. I had a newfound respect for him and his laidback attitude; I was thoroughly impressed.

“Okay, last t.v. interview. You’ve got this… It’ll be over before you know it!” I gave him a reassuring smile and grabbed the coffee from his hand. It was still full. “How come you haven’t drunk this? You must need it, you look like you’re about to drop any second.”

The makeup artist finished her last minute touch ups and then James finally spoke, “Have you tasted it?” I gave him an odd look before sipping from his cup. I made a disgusted face, thinking the very same sentence James spoke out loud, “It’s not Café St. Clares.”

“Very true,” I conceded, “Now drink, you need it.” I handed it back to him and he drank it quickly in just a few large gulps, making a face as he swallowed the last of it.

“Happy?” I grabbed the empty cup from his hand. “Ecstatic,” I flashed a bright over-the-top smile at him. He rolled his eyes in return but I saw the hint of a smile there so I ignored it.

I could hear Jay Leno’s introduction, “… star of the hit show Satan’s Soldiers and winner of several Emmy’s, please welcome James McCalman!”

I spun James around and gave him a little shove. I watched on screen from backstage as he made his way up to his seat and shook Leno’s hand before sitting down.

“It’s wonderful to have you here, James.”

“Thank you, it’s great to be here, Jay.” There were a few loud whistles from the audience so he waved to them before turning back to the host.

“Now, I understand your show won six Emmy’s this year, and you were responsible for two of them. Is that correct?” Leno asked him.

“Well, I got best male lead in a drama and as a whole we got best drama of the year, but that was a collective effort. I certainly didn’t earn it all myself. The cast and crew are the absolute best there is out there, they’re just amazing.”

“Right, everyone has a part, so as for your part, you know we all see you and you look like a normal guy here sitting down but on your show you have guns and you’re doing illegal things, but you still seem nice… so what’s that like to play? Is it a stretch for you or can you relate in any way?” Jay asked, as if it made no sense for someone like James to play his role.

“Actually, it’s really simple in a lot of ways. Ours is the dramatized version of the reality – the extreme- and in my research for the role I met a lot of people that are in that lifestyle, but they tend to be really respectful gentlemen. They aren’t as wild as the characters on our show, just apart from the mainstream and honestly I love the role because I relate. I've always believed in going down your own path and doing what you want and what you believe in. These men do that, so I can understand,” he answered clearly and concisely.